


「Re:Write」

by kagacuties



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game), SINoALICE (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, F/M, based on SINoALICE's Nier event
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 11:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13294284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kagacuties/pseuds/kagacuties
Summary: "The purpose of this library…is to grant what you most desire!""Have you finally realized what that is?"





	「Re:Write」

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally got around to reading the sinoalice translations and it's So Good
> 
> It’s recommended you’ve read the sinoalice event and 5th concert script to understand this, but if you're lazy I tried to rehash the important bits
> 
> Sinoalice event: <http://sinoalice.moe/post/164592556716/nier-collab-recollections-of-the-puppets>  
> 5th concert script: <https://mintychu.dreamwidth.org/1870.html#cutid1>
> 
> Parts in「 」are jumbled quotes from the above source material

.

.

.

.

.

               Her first fall in the Library is a mistake.

-Oh? It seems we have a guest.

-Quite Unexpected.

-What shall we do with her?

-Corrupt her? Torment her?

-The Library takes care of that, without us!

She pushes forward—searching for an exit, searching for her “enemy.”  
She simply ignores the strange puppets, their wicked laughter assaulting her ears.

Yet, the puppets cling to her.  
As vultures to a rotting carcass.

 

 

 

~~~

               I am…2B. YoRHa No. 2 Type B.

I awaken in a familiar landscape.  
Dense vegetation covers the ground. Crumbling buildings rise before me.  
The City Ruins.

Except it is not.

The earth shifts constantly beneath my steps. The sky is made of decaying wood.  
Strange monsters roam in hoards, attacking with little provocation.  
I do not know where I am. Just that I must escape.

~

               “Nightmares” are what the puppets call these creatures.

These “nightmares” whisper of delusional wishes, meaningless desires.  
They are not unlike the machines of my own world.

And like the enemies of my own world, I can only soak my blade in their blood.

~

                I find myself in a corroded building, filled with mechanisms covered in rust.  
This world’s rendition of the Abandoned Factory.

There is a dissonant song. Screams.

_I Must… I Must…_

_I MUST BECOME BEAUTIFUL!_

…That is the machine lifeform. That is my “enemy.”

~

                I am trapped in a dream.

This is the conclusion I reach, as I come face to face with the machine I have already killed in the past.

Still, I am uneasy. Such an answer seems too simple.

~

「I sought “refuge.”

“Refuge” in defeating the enemy. “Refuge” in harming myself.

I admired him.

I adored him.

I killed.

I killed so many enemies.

I killed so many friends. 」

 

「I must become beautiful…」

~

                She sings of “love.”

A foolish, meaningless love.

I do not understand why it drives her to act she does.  
I do not understand her madness.

Androids cannot grasp emotions, as machines do.

…Perhaps it is for the best.

~

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful **Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful BeautifulBeautifulBeautifulBeautifulBeautifulBeautifulBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTIFULBEAUTI**

                My sword pierces her core, ending her pitiful insanity.

 

 

 

 

~~~

               I awaken to 9S at my side.

_Memory Recheck Complete.  
No Errors Detected._

The strange dream is over.

I quickly rise to my feet, earning a storm of fusses from 9S.  
I should wait longer before resuming motor functions, he warns. There’s a chance I could collapse.  
He worries too much.  
Still, when he tugs at my sleeve, I settle down beside him.

There’s a playful spark to his gaze, his voice layered in curiosity.  
During the recheck, my processors resembled active function.  
He wants to know about the dream I had.  
But even his contagious excitement can’t quell the unease in my chest.

The words of the machine lifeform, the intensity of her desire…  
Do I possess a wish that matches hers in strength?  
Perhaps that is why I was summoned to that strange world?

The hand on my shoulder interrupts my thoughts.  
9S is staring at me in confusion.  
I glance away.

‘There is no point in discussing meaningless dreams.’

Those are words I must remind even myself.

 

 

* * *

 

                Her second fall is preparation.

-What is it that you wish for?

-What is it that you desire?

The strange puppets harass her until she provides an answer.

“I wish to serve mankind.”  
That is her duty. The meaning to her existence.  
An obvious response.

-Wrong!

-Horribly wrong!

-How foolish!

-She hasn’t yet realized her true desire?

-She’ll never survive here!

Gishin and Anki, are the puppets’ names.  
They annoy her to no end. She wishes them gone.

Yet every time she cuts them down, new puppets replace them,  
Jeering with identical, soulless eyes.

 

 

 

~~~

 

                The setting has changed, yet I understand where I am.

I am in the “Library.”  
Again.

This time the scenery is of the Copied City.  
I walk through the halls of crystallized carbon, cautiously fending off nightmares.

I must find the machine lifeform.  
I must put an end to this.

These dreams feel too wrong.

~

                This place brings back bad memories.

I idly wish 9S were here.

~

                A wailing voice echoes through the city, and I trace my way it to its source.

It’s Eve, hunched over his brother’s body.  
He doesn’t notice me.  
Just cries a single name.

Adam.

Adam.

The machine who slandered my human masters.

The machine who hurt 9S.

 

...I do not feel remorse.

~

The time we spent together meant everything to me.

Those “memories” were my “light.”

I didn’t want to see you hurt.

I didn’t want to lose you.

But I did.

You’re gone.

You’re gone.

 

Brother, where are you?

~

                He cries of dependency.

My life has no meaning without you, he says.  
I’ll kill them,  
I’ll kill them all, he says.

Black markings engulf his skin as red eyes turn to face me.

I’ll kill you.

He says.

And then he attacks.

~

Destroy

Destroy

Destroy

Destroy

Destroy

Destroy

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**Destroy**

**DesTrOY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTROY**

**DESTR—**

My blade meets his skull.

_Brother…_

~~~

 

                _Memory Overhaul Complete.  
                Data Cleanup Successful._

9S smiles down at me. It’s a scene I’ve grown used to waking up to.  
I prop myself up, placing a hand to my temple as he reminds me to take it easy.  
We’ve both sustained significant damage from the battle with Eve.

Again, he is curious about my dream. I refuse to describe it to him.  
Is it related to the last dream, he asks, after the battle with the singing lifeform?  
I am surprised that he remembers.  
Though I often underestimate how perceptive he is.

When I do not speak, his expression fades to one of concern.  
If there’s ever anything bothering me, I can always talk to him, he says,  
Before regaining his cheerful composure.

It is not the first time he has said such words.  
But I cannot recall if they were last spoken by this 9S, or a previous iteration.

The thought makes my chest tighten.

 

 

* * *

 

You’d think she’d understand, the purpose of these visits!

But instead she clings to pathetic, false truths!

Perhaps she actually believes them?

Too funny!

What a fool she is!

After all, we both know how her story ends!

  

* * *

 

 

 

 

She’s tried, over and over to wake him.  
Even after every attempt ends in failure.  
Even when the pods tell her it is useless.

She can save him.  
He’s still there.  
He has to be…

~

                When Jackass sends her the report, she wastes no time finding the Tower ruins.

She digs through the rubble.  
She digs until her hands bleed.  
She digs through maintenance failures.

It lasts for hours, days. She doesn’t stop.

Not until she finds it—the remains of the Ark, her last beacon of hope.

~

                The Ark is littered with shattered amber-colored crystals.

The machine’s communication protocol, the pods explain.

They can use it. They can fix him.

~

「 Repair vaccine injected. 」

No response.

「 Re-administering repair vaccine. 」

Silence.

「 Re-administering repair vaccine. 」

Nothing.

「Hypothesis: Repair vaccine is a failure.  
   Negative: Repair vaccine's functions confirmed to be normal. 」

「 Re-administering repair vaccine.

“Why…why isn’t it…?”

  Hypothesis: Unit 9S's personal data has been lost.  
  Report: Possibility of recovering 9S's personal data extremely low. 」

Still, she doesn’t give up. She can’t give up.

「 Report: Memory components discovered within traces of personal data. 」

 

「 Starting playback. 」

~

               9S. It’s his voice.

She hasn’t heard him in so long…

~

「 _My personal data…can't keep shape any longer..._  
_I'm about to disappear…_

_Hey, 2B…_  
_My existence…it wasn't meaningless..._  
_Meeting you…gave meaning to my birth…_  
_Thank you…2B…_ 」

_  
_ 「Thank you…」

~

_No…_

He’s gone?

_No…_

He deleted his personal data…

_No…_

There isn’t any meaning, is there?  
Living without 9S…

_No._

So she stops moving.

_No._

The pods call out to her.

_No._

So she stops speaking.

_No._

No one comes for her.

_No._

There is no one left.

_No…_

_No one._

 

 

 

 

 

.

**NO.**

**I CANNOT ACCEPT THIS ENDING.**

**I CANNOT ACCEPT THIS ENDING.**

**I CANNOT—**

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<<No movement detected in 96 hours>>  
<<Automatic shutdown engaged>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

~~~

 

Towers of books pile around her. Heavy dust clings to the air.

It’s…the Library.  
This time in a literal sense.

What…is she doing here?

-Tell us, has your story ended?

She stares at her knees, refusing to look up, to speak.

-It’s time! It’s time!

-The purpose of this library…is to grant what you most desire!

-Have you finally realized what that is?

…

…

…

She lifts her eyes. She stumbles to her feet.

She doesn’t trust these puppets, none in the least…  
But…if they speak the truth…

What she truly wishes for…

…

…

…

 

“How do I save 9S?”

 

~~~

 

God abandoned her long ago.  
Perhaps it was her own fault, for the foolish decisions she’s made.

A world spun in lies.  
An existence cursed in cyclical tragedy.  
For so long, she has suffered.

She needs him.  
She needs him alive. She needs him safe.  
She needs to make things right.

So she will find her “god.” Force him to rewrite her tale.  
If it requires negotiation, so be it. If she must threaten violence, so be it.  
She doesn’t even care to eliminate the suffering she’s endured.

All she desires is a different ending.

 

“Atonement.”  
That is the name of the delusioned blade that pierces 2B’s heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Time for 2b to find yoko taro and beat him up
> 
> Shoutout to mintychu and warusou for translating canon side materials! You guys are the real mvps


End file.
